In the Begining
by mythologirl
Summary: A fic about the begining of the Gods andthe war between the Gods and the Titans. I really suck at summaries, so it is better than it sounds! Rated T for violent and slightly disturbing scenes. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

I screamed as the nymph beside me wiped a damp cloth against my forehead. She was trying to sooth me; to stop me from feeling the pain. She murmured something about the baby and I stopped screaming. If I couldn't give birth to this child now, Kronos would find me. I couldn't let him take this child, too. The other five had been eaten alive in his paranoid fear. If I couldn't endure this pain for a while longer, another far greater pain would overwhelm me. I was not going to lose another child.

I pushed, using all of my strength to move the baby along. I cried out as it moved through me, but only quietly. I was not to far away from my husband.

Then, relief! I forced the baby out of me. The nymph gathered it up and cut the cord connecting him to me.

"Rhea, it's a boy!" the tree spirit said to me urgently. She held him out to me. I felt the warmth of the young boys' skin on my arms, and I started to sob. This child would live to see his siblings. He would save them, and he would save me. He was destined for greatness, I could tell. His rapid breathing was almost silent, as if he felt the need to stay quiet as much as I did. I looked at his charming, gorgeous little face, seeking comfort in the similarity between his features and mine. His hair was he same soft brown and his face seemed kind, though he was only a few moments into this world.

Then he opened his eyes. Despite the dark hair and olive-toned skin, my son had astoundingly blue eyes. The colour that was the same as the sky in which we Titans lived. He smiled dazzlingly at me, showing a collection of fully-grown teeth, a brilliantly white smile. He was a charmer, this boy. He would do great things for us.

"Hand me that blanket," I ordered. The dryad passed it to me and, still crying in happiness, I wrapped the lime green coverlet around his fragile young body and handed him to the Dryad, who would take him away until he was old enough to free us all. She nodded and turned to go. Before she left the room, she turned to me.

"Lady Rhea, what will you name him?" she asked. That pulled me up short. I didn't know. I had never thought much about the names. The children where never around long enough to name. I stopped to think for a moment. Then I felt some other being taking over me. The three fates, who had been around longer than time itself, called to me, and told me his name.

"He shall be named Zeus, King of the new generation. They shall be the Gods, and all shall one day recognise their leadership and their rule." It felt so strange, that extra presence, but it did not last long, and the fates faded as quickly as they had come.

"Yes, my lady," the Dryad said, and she left to go to my mother Gaia, who would shelter my son. Zeus.

* **********

I took a deep breath, hoping against all hope that this would work. If it did, Zeus would be free. He would grow up like a normal Titan, and one day defeat his father. But this had to work first.

I pulled the blanket – the same one that Zeus used when he was born – more securely over the rock. It was roughly the same size, shape and weight of a newborn child. I then stepped through the doorway, into my husband's room.

"Kronos?" I called uncertainly. Maybe he was not here? Then I heard a grunt, and knew he was.

"I have given birth, and I thought that you would want the baby." My voice shook at the end. I heard another grunt, then rounded the corner to face the monster who had taken me for his wife.

"Give the thing to me," Kronos ordered. He held his hand out expectantly. This was where I had to act. If I handed over the 'baby meekly, he would be suspicious.

"What if we kept his one?" I asked timidly. "It is a son, and he is beautiful." Kronos smiled cruelly.

"You should not get attached to those vile little things. They all end up in the same place." He was being as nasty as he could, enjoying my hurt. "Now, give it to me!" He raised a hand at me, and that did it. I flinched back, anticipating the physical hurt that would come for running off. I handed over the rock. He grabbed it roughly with one hand and shoved it into his mouth. As always, I winced in horror at his sadistic-ness as he swallowed without so much as a bite. He grinned when he was done.

"Now, Rhea," he said in a voice that was dangerously soft. "Where were you this last month? Why were you not here?" These questions may have seemed innocent to an outsider, but the words were accompanied with a heavy slap around my face. I gasped as his open palm stung my face. This was nothing, though. He was warning me with his hand, telling me to talk.

"I had to get away," I mumbled. Quiet as my voice was, he would still hear it. "My child… he was so beautiful…I couldn't bear to give him up." I kept my eyes on the floor as I spoke, imagining the look of amusement on his face as I said that. The next blow was harder than the first, a small punishment in the form of a punch in my gut, which had been so recently been vacated.

"You didn't answer…where did you go?" These words were complemented with more pain as he abused me again and again. I started sobbing, wondering why he had to choose me.

"I went to my mother, then came back! That's all!" I moaned. "Please stop! You're hurting me!" I dared a glance upward. He was grinning as he kicked at me. Those black eyes where staring at me, his wickedness reflecting out of them. I crumpled to the floor and he stopped. I groaned in relief as he staggered off to the bed.

"Don't deceive me again, Rhea, or you will get much worse." I believed him. But at least Zeus was safe. I would not suffer so much again. I stayed on the floor, contemplating what I would do to Kronos when Zeus defeated him.

He left me there for a time, but like all cruel beings, other needs became known. He walked over to me and grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet. Once I was up, he took my face roughly in his hands and kissed me, a low moan sounding in his throat. He dragged me to his bed, and my duties as a wife to a lord continued as though I had never left.

**A/N Hi everyone! I'm back! please remember that reviews are always appreciated!!!**

**For you guys that have read Artems;legend of the goddess, do you like this idea? I didn't know if it was a good one but thought that I may as well try.**

**If you haven't read my other story, then what are you doing reading this Authors Note? go read it!**

**as always, I look forward to hearing from you all'**

**maddy**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is dedicated to Miss X - a dedicated reviewer rom Artemis and also my first reviewer for this story**

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A month had passed since Zeus's birth, and I wondered how he is going. I ha not been allowed out of the palace since. All of my messages were heard by another before I could receive them. So all I could do was wonder – and fret. Is he still alive? How quickly is he growing? When I saw him mere hours after his birth – to take the blanket which would smell like him – he was already the size of an average one year old. My comparison was to the nymph children, who grew at about the same speed as the ignorant, primeval mortals below us.

I supposed that I was grateful that I was kept busy with housekeeping. If it weren't for the constant mess that my hateful husband made, I may have succumbed to utter misery. Even now, I came close to the pathetic sobbing girl of that first night. As I cleaned, I hoped. I hoped for a better future for us all.

***********

Five years later

***********

Zeus. That was what my mother – who I couldn't remember ever seeing – had named me. The dryad who had taken care of me told me her name was Rhea. She said that I had some great destiny.

Although I was only five years old, I had the body and mind of an eighteen year old nymph. I had slowed down in my growth when I was one year, and now I had stopped growing altogether.

The nymphs had taken care of me and trained me, so that now I could do what they could, and had learnt their ways and their respect for the Titans.

When it all began, I was practicing my swordsmanship in the training hall at the lady Gaia's home. I was hacking away the dummy when Amalthia – the nymph who has cared for me from birth – came over to me. I stopped, sweating, as she approached. The look on her face was one filled with concern and worry.

"What is it, Amalthia?" I asked. I took a lot to shake this peaceful dryad.

"Your mother is here. She wishes to speak to you." I small thrill of anxiety shot through me. Crete – which is where of Gaia's house live – was very isolated, and rarely had visitors and they only came when the need was great. That combined with the fact that the visitor was my mother – who I had never seen – almost made me shake. I took a deep breath, which calmed me a little. Then I allowed Amalthia to lead me to the woman who had never cared enough to find me.

***********

I stood in the foyer of mother Gaia's house, waiting for my son. I was so nervous. What if he was cruel, like his father? What if he wasn't ready? I had not stopped hoping, not once in the five long years that I had waited. I had to trust that my hope had not been in vain.

I watched anxiously as he entered the small room, with faithful Amalthia next to him. He stared at me – and I at him – and I moved unconsciously towards him. We both paused as we neared each other, and I took in his appearance. He was so tall! He stood at least six foot seven, taller than his father. His skin was still a handsome olive tone, and he had brown curly hair, the same colour – if not the same texture – as mine. I glanced at his heavily muscled bare chest and thought that we might stand a chance. He was very sweaty, as though he had been exercising. This evaluation only took a second, as my eyes lingered on his face. He had sharp, perfectly straight features. His lips where strangely full for a male. That was not what caught my attention, though. His eyes – still a perfect, clear blue – showed only kindness and love, though tinted with a little nervousness.

"Zeus."

"Rhea?" That stung a little. He did not use the word mother. I guess I deserved that, though. On the up side, his voice reflected his eyes. It was innocent, loving and kind.

We stared at each other for a moment longer before I lost control. I lunged across the last few steps towards him and took him in a tight embrace. His arms wrapped around me hesitantly, as if he did not know what to do. I sobbed into his chest.

Our sweet reunion was interrupted after a moment. My mother entered the room then. I broke off from my son and turned to her.

***********

As Lady Gaia entered the awkward reunion, Rhea finally released me and turned away. I dropped immediately to one knee, as I was taught, and bowed my head respectfully to the Lady. She tutted.

"Get up, boy. You do not need to show respect to me." Despite the complement that her words offered, her tone sounded more like an order. I rose stiffly.

"Now we must discuss what will happen tonight," she said to us both briskly. "I assume that you have a plan, Rhea?"

"Well, no…" Gaia interrupted before Rhea could finish.

"I thought not. What about you, boy?" I couldn't find the words quickly enough.

"I didn't think so." She sighed. "I suppose it is good that I have one, then."

"What I happening tonight?" I asked before I could stop myself. Gaia stared at me.

"Why, you are going to overthrow your father, of course."

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**A/N Hi everyone!**

**I had a couplle of questions from a reviewer. First, no I will not only be telling Rhea's POV (That is kind of obvious, though, after this chapther). Second, i'm no really going to do a retelling. I will put more details into my storie than the myth does.**

**I would like to wish you all a merry christmas (in case I don't update before then). Remember, there i no better chrissy present than a review! (hint hint)**

**hope to here from you all!**

**maddy**


	3. Chapter 3

"What?" I was more confused than ever. "Who is he? Why do I need to 'overthrow' him?"

"Rhea, haven't you told him anything?" Gaia asked. Rhea just looked down and shook her head.

"Zeus," Gaia turned to me, suddenly sympathetic. "You have been in grave danger since the moment that you were born. Your father, my eldest son, is a vicious brute, who would have you die, if you were not immortal. He rules unjustly over us and the mortals on the land beneath us. Many have been waiting for you to become strong enough to defeat him."

"Why me? Why do I have to do it?" I was uncomfortable with the whole situation. "And who is he?"

"You have to do it, because it has been foretold that his son will defeat him. You are his son."

"Who is he?" I repeated angrily. I could feel that she was deliberately keeping it from me, and I could tell from the set of Gaia's lips that she would not tell. I was surprised, however, when meek Rhea lifted her head.

"What point is there to hiding from and manipulating him, mother?" she demanded. Before Gaia could stop her, Rhea turned to me.

"Your father, my husband, is Kronos."

***********

As I said the words, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my chest. He knew. It would ultimately be his decision wether or not we would be free. I felt horrible, selfish even, to sully his innocents with murder and treason, but there was nothing else that I could do.

Mother hissed at me, but did nothing else. She knew as well as I did that there was no point to try and persuade Zeus to do anything he didn't want to. He would decide.

We all looked at each other for a moment, before Zeus spoke. There was a fierce emotion which I could not place in his tone.

"It must be me?" he asked. I nodded in conformation.

"Have I no siblings?" My eyes brimmed with tears shed so many times. I could not speak of this subject. It was my mother who answered.

"Kronos has done a deed which disgusts all but the most gruesome beasts. You do have five siblings. All are currently dwelling inside Kronos's stomach."

Zeus gagged once, but swiftly recovered.

"What is your plan?"

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**A/N I know, I know, it is too short! I am working on a plan for how this is going to work, but it is not getting too far. I'll update with a longer chapter ASAP!**

**As short as this is, I would still love some reviews. Please?!?**

**Until next time,**

**Happy christmas,**

**Maddy**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is dedicated to Katana, thanks for your review.**

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I was surprise how quickly I could recover from hearing the horrific act of cannibalism that Kronos – I couldn't think of him as my father – had done. Now my mind was set on one thing. I would free my siblings from this terrible injustice.

"What is your plan, Gaia?" I repeated as she had not answered. She cleared her throat.

"Er…right. The plan." She coughed once more. "We are going to sneak you into the palace as a servant. You are going to add a herb to his meal, which will make him… regurgitate … your five siblings, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Then you will escape, and the six of you will escape to a secluded mountain called Olympus." She paused. "The rest, of course, is up to you." Rhea frowned.

"That is too simple," she declared. "He will see it in a heartbeat."

"You have much to learn about your husband, Rhea." Gaia smirked. "He has a mind of complexity. He will predict complicated plans easily, but anything less will go un-noticed." Rhea opened her mouth to argue again, but I interrupted.

"I kind of like it."

Rhea glared at me and I laughed inwardly. He anger in this tiny lady was strangely funny, like the anger of a kitten who thinks itself a tiger. Gaia smiled.

"There you go, Rhea." Her voice was smug, and rightly so. "It's his neck on the line if Kronos guesses what is going on." I was so strangely confident that I didn't even feel a prick of fear at her words, though logic made me question my sanity for even thinking about challenging the Titan lord in any way.

"You forget that I will be _punished _if he fails," Rhea hissed in her kitten-like anger. I was frustrated that she thought so little of me. I would have said something, but Gaia beat me to it.

"Really Rhea, do you think that he can't take care of himself?" she demanded. "What else have we been training him for?" I was startled by the fact that Gaia had been preparing me for whatever was coming next. It had occurred to me that none of the nymphs had ever been present at the practice courts – in fact, the only ones at the courts were my multiple tutors, who were guards at Mt Othrys, home of the Titans, before they trained me as a favour to Gaia – but I had never thought why. It seemed that the courts where only there for me.

"Relax, mother." The word shocked me as I said it – it came out naturally, as if it belonged. I shrugged it off. "Everything will be fine."

She was staring at me. Her eyes widened, then overflowed with moisture. The tears fell down her cheek. I reached out and wiped them away, and her hand held mine.

"You have no idea how long I have waited to hear someone say that," she whispered. Her voice broke. "I have always thought of myself as always pregnant, never a mother." She blinked, more tear falling. I smiled gently at her.

"Come now, mother. We have work to do."

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**A/N Hey all! ****I hope that everyone had a good christmas! **

**I had a question about amalthia, the dryad who looked after Zeus. In some myths, she is a goat, but in some myths, she is a nymph who owns the goat. I should have had her goat in there somewhere. Sorry for leaving that out!**

**Remember, reviews are always greatly appreciated.**

**Happy new year!! Bring on 2009!**

**Maddy**


	5. Chapter 5

I nodded at Zeus, understanding that my joy could only be brief, for we did indeed have much work to do. I gently released Zeus's hand and turned to my mother.

"You didn't come up with that _simply brilliant_ . . ." my words were sarcastic ". . . plan on your own, did you?"

"Erm…no," she replied, suddenly embarrassed. "The Titanesse Metis Saw what was going to happen. The future was indistinct, but that was the clearest option. She gave me the herb also." At that, mother pulled a parcel containing a dried herb. I gasped.

"How did she get her hands on emetic?" I was shocked. Such a rare herb…

"I don't know how, but I know that it will help," she replied. "Now, we have to dress Zeus here down to a servant boy."

***********

It took ages to 'dress me down', as Gaia put it. Firstly, the clothing that was on Crete was all fitted for Nymphs, and we had no time to weave our own clothing. I was both too tall and too broad around my shoulders to fit into it. In the end, we had to take my own clothes – which were overly dressy for the job at hand – and make them look shabbier than they were.

Then we had to make _me _look like a servant, which was difficult – mainly because a servant normally does not have the obvious muscular development that I had acquired. After a while, Gaia became frustrated with attempting to hide my build with loose clothing.

"How did you get so wretchedly _big_?" she asked in annoyance. Mother chuckled.

"I believe that was because you trained him to be that way," she replied blithely. "He only did what he was told."

"Oh, shut up, Rhea," Gaia snapped. That only made her laugh more. I joined in, and for a moment, I actually felt like I was in a family. This was like nothing that I had ever felt before.

Gaia glared at us for a moment, before shaking her head.

"There is only one way to do this then," she announced in an annoyed tone. Mother and I looked at her, confused. She smiled and pointed at me. Mother frowned.

"I don't think that is a good idea," she cautioned. Gaia shrugged.

"Have you got a better one?" she asked. Mother shook her head, and this time Gaia laughed. From her finger shot a spark of shimmering golden light, which grew larger as it came closer to me. When it paused in front of me, it was large enough to engulf me completely. I took a step back, glaring at it.

"What…?" I never got a chance to finish. The light moved forward, seemingly eager, and washed over me. Everything went black.

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**A/N Hey all!**

**Sorry it has been so long, iv been really busy**

**Remember to please review!**

**maddy**


	6. Sorry!

**Hi all!**

**I am really sorry. I promised myself that I wouldn't do this. But I am really having difficulty with writing _in the beginning _because of another story that I am writing. Also, I have come up blank on what to write next. The story is there, and so is the plot, but the words don't come out right.**

**I will work on it as soon as I can find inspiration.**

**Many apologies,**

**Maddy**


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